Cigarette construction



Oct. 9, 1962 E. P. BUGGE CIGARETTE CONSTRUCTION Filed Aug. 4, 1959 T viel, l

ERL/NG E 3l/66E INVENTOR. www

rfae/vfsv nited States Patent 3,057,360 CIGARETTE CNSTRUCTION Erling I. Bngge, 13.0. Box 36183, Los Angeles 36, Calif. Filed Aug. 4, 1959, Ser. No. 831,562 3 Claims. (Cl. 131-9) This invention relates generally to cigarettes, and more particularly to an improved type of cigarette having means for the admission `of -air into the stream of smoke.

It has long been recognized that the smoke from `a cigarette contains many products of incomplete combustion, and these `do not add to the enjoyment of the cigarette, but may instead have injurious effects upon the smoker. It has been the custom for many years to add' Potassium chlorate or some other comparable material to the tobacco used in cigarettes, and while this has been added primarily for the purpose of ensuring the continuous burning of the cigarette, it has also added to the completeness of the combustion of the various products. However, it will be appreciated that any such chemical adds its own end products, and even with the added oxygen, there is no assurance that combustion has been complete.

More recently, eiorts have been made to provide a paper for cigarettes which has -a controlled porosity, thus permitting the admission of air into the cigarette between the burning end land the smokers mouth. However, to secure the desired porosity is in itself a problem of Isome magnitude, and to this must be -added the problem of providing a paper having a suticient mechanical strength to withstand the physical handling to which cigarettes are subjected. Thus, while the addition of air to the .smoke from a cigarette is desirable, it has heretofore Ibeen diicult to accomplish this within the cigarette itself.

It is a major object of the present invention to provide a cigarette construction adapted to provide for the addition of air to the smoke of a cigarette.

Another object of the invention is to provide a form of construction in which the amount of air that is added to the smoke screen varies with the degree of suction exerted by the smoker.

It is a further `object of the invention to provide a cigarette having the means for `adding lair to the stream of smoke, which cigarette is constructed of standard, presently used materials, and does not require the use of special paper, treatment of the tobacco, or auxiliary equipment.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a cigarette construction that can be accomplished with existing and presently used machinery, with slight and inexpensive modication, so that present manufacturing procedures may be continued.

It is a still further object of the invention to provide a cigarette construction which provides an improved cigarette, having improved smoking characteristics, at substantially no increase in cost to the manufacturer.

These and other objects and advantages of the invention will become apparent from the following description of a preferred form thereof, and from the drawings illustrating that form in which FIGURE 1 is a perspective view of a cigarette constructed in accordance with the present invention;

FIGURE 2 is a perspective view of a sheet of cigarette paper of the type used in the present invention;

FIGURE 3 is a side elevational view of a cigarette incorporating the present invention;

[FIGURE 4 is -a crosslsectional view taken through one of the ports or apertures, `and taken on the line 4-4 of FIGURE 3;

FIGURE 5 is a cross-sectional view of the cigarette shown in FIGURE 3, taken upon the line 5-5 thereof and showing vthe valve construction;

FIGURE 6 is a longitudinal view, partially broken away, and taken perpendicular tothe view in FIGURE 3; FIGURE 7 is a cross-sectional view taken on the line '7-7 of FIGURE 6 and showing both the port `and valve 5 in normal, unstressed position;

FIGURE 8 is a view simil-ar to FIGURE 7 but showing the `action of the valve when subjected to mild suction;

FIGURE 9 is a view similar to FIGURE 7 but showing the action of the valve under greater suction; and

FIGURE l0 is an enlarged fragmentary view taken along the longitudinal axis of the cigarette and showing the action of the valves when the smoker is sucking or drawing on the cigarette.

Referring now to the drawings and particularly to FIG- URE 1 thereof, the numeral 20 indicates generally a cigarette constructed in accordance with the present invention and including -a core or cylinder 21 of shredded tobacco, enclosed in a paper tube 22. If desired, the cigarette 26 may be provided with a lip-engaging tip (not shown) of any suitable material, such las cork, etc., and likewise, a so-called filter tip may be aixed to the cigarette 20 if desired. However, neither the use of the special lip-engaging tip material, nor the iilter tip is necessary, though either or both may be used without affecting the construction and `operation of the present invention. In the manufacture of cigarettes, the longitudinally extending edges of the paper 22 are overlapped as shown in FIGURES 3, 5 `and 6, -to form a cylinder, the edges of the paper being held in overlying position by a suitable adhesive. I-Ieretofore, substantially the entire overlying area has been coated with adhesive, but in accordance with the present invention, only a portion of this area is so coated. A portion of the overlying larea may thus be termed vthe nonadhering area, and in this latter area lare a plurality of valves suitably arranged to admit air into the interior of the cigarette.

As thus seen in FIGURE 2, the extreme longitudinal edge of the outer overlying section is provided with an adhesive strip or band 23 `and adjacent this strip is a plurality of longitudinally spaced holes or ports 24 that extend completely through the paper 22.

Along the opposite edge of the paper 22 is a series of slits 25 spaced from the edge of the paper so as to be circumferentially aligned with the ports 24 when the paper 22 is rolled into the cylinder that is eventually formed. However, the slits 2S are preferably spaced so that they are not longitudinally aligned with the ports 24, but fall intermediate these ports, as indicated in FIG- URES 3, 6, and 10. Finally, another strip of adhesive 26 may be applied along the edge of the paper 22, inwardly from and adjacent the holes or ports 24. In this manner, a longitudinally extending passageway 27 is provided, this passageway interconnecting the ports 24 and the slits or valves 25, and at least one edge of the passageway being sealed by adhesive. Generally it is desirable to seal both sides or edges of the passageway 27, as by the adhesive strips 23 and 26, but if one adhesive strip is to be omitted, it is generally preferable to omit the inner one 26, since the opposite edge of the paper 22 will normally be held in position by the presence of the tobacco 21.

The slits or valves 25 are formed by cutting or severing the paper with a very sharp knife edge so that none of the paper is actually removed, and the adjacent edges of the slit bear against each other, as indicated in FIG- URE 5. It will be appreciated that the thickness of the paper 22 is greatly exaggerated in the igures so that the construction and operation of the invention will be more clearly understood. Cigarette paper, of course, is very thin, and the ribbon of adhesive likewise usually has no appreciable thickness, as distinguished from the showing of these features in the drawings.

In the normal use of a cigarette constructed in accordance with the present invention, when the cigarette is burning normally without any air being drawn through it, burning proceeds in the normal manner, and the valves 25 remain closed, as indicated in FIGURE 7. In this figure it will be seen that the adjacent surfaces of the paper, by reason of the natural resilience of the paper and by reason of the curving of the paper and the forming of a cylinder, bear against each other and present no opening for the admission of air into the side of the cigarette, through the valves 25.

When the smoker takes a puff upon the cigarette, he produces a suction that draws air through the cigarette from the burning end and in general reduces the pressure within the cigarette. The drawing of air through the burning end of the cigarette ensures that the smoke produced by burning will travel through the cigarette and into the smokers mouth, as is customary, and the reduced pressure within the cigarette causes air to enter through the ports 24, follow along the longitudinally extending passageway 27 connecting the ports and valves 25, and to then enter through the valves 25 into the cigarette. The admission of air through the valves 25 is made possible by the flexibility of the paper 22, which, by reason of the reduced pressure within the cigarette, is slightly collapsed from its normal cylindrical form so that the area adjacent the slots or valves 25 is bowed inwardly, thus spreading the innermost edges of the slits and permitting the passage of air, as indicated in FIGURE 8. The passage of air along the passageway 27 is illustrated in FIGURE l0.

When the smoker puffs harder, and creates a greater vacuum or reduction of pressure within the cigarette 20, the valves 25 will be opened farther by the greater distortion of the edge of the paper, as illustrated in FIG- URE 9, so that a greater quantity of air is admitted into the cigarette. In this way, the harder the smoker draws on the cigarette, or expressed ditierently, the greater the suction within the cigarette, the greater the amount of air that is admitted through the valves 25.

Because the bending and natural resilience of the paper 22 closes the valves 25, it will he recognized that the construction of the valves in the presently described manner is of some considerable importance. Thus, the preloading that is applied to the valves 25 is important, and furthermore is automatically provided by the present form of construction, If the slits or valves 25, instead of extending longitudinally, extended generally circumferentially, the preloading and resilience urging the valves closed would not be present. Furthermore, because of the long cylindrical shape of cigarettes, there would be greater likelihood of bending the cigarette about a line perpendicular to its longitudinal axis, and thus unduly stressing the area adjacent the slits or valves, and enlarging them.

The size of the slits 25 is a major factor in controlling the amount of air that is admitted to the cigarette under given conditions, If too much air is admitted, the cigarette will not burn properly, and while it will be very easy drawing, very little of the smoke will reach the smokers mouth. On the other hand, if too little air is admitted through the slits or valves 25, their effect is minimized, and there is very little benefit to be gained. It has been found that if the slits o-r valves 25 are carefully made with a sharp knife so that the edges of the slits normally abut each other, as indicated in FIGURE 7, and the slits are approximately 3/32 of an inch long, very satisfactory results are obtained. While four slits or 'd valves 25 and five ports 24 are shown in the present disclosure, it will be appreciated that a greater or lesser number of ports and valves may be used if so desired. However, the present arrangement has the advantage of providing rather uniform qualities for the cigarette throughout its length, without requiring excessive slitting.

It will be appreciated, of course, that the ports 24 and valves 25 need not be arranged in longitudinally extending alignment, but may be arranged in a helical conlguration, or may be arranged around the circumference of the cigarette. However, in almost all instances it is desirable that the port 24 be displaced from the valves 25 so that tobacco will not pass through or become caught in the valves 25 so easily, since this would destroy the effectiveness of the metered flow of air into the interior of the cigarette.

From the foregoing, it will be seen that there has been provided a cigarette fully capable of securing the advantages and achieving the objects heretofore set forth. While a preferred form of the invention has been disclosed, it will be appreciated that modifications may be made therein, and the invention is not to be limited to the particular form or arrangement of parts herein described and shown, except as limited by the claims.

I claim:

1. A cigarette which includes: a filler; a wrapper enclosing said filler and having overlying portions; and inlet means in said wrapper comprising means defining a port extending through one of said overlying portions to a passageway between said overlying portions, and valve means extending through another of said overlying portions to admit air into said ller from said passageway, said valve means including normally closed lips resiliently urged together b-ut capable of being opened when the pressure within said ller is less than the outside pressure.

2. A cigarette as defined in claim 1 in which said lips extend in a direction parallel to the longitudinal axis of said cigarette.

3. A cigarette which includes: a filler; a wrapper enclosing said filler and having overlying portions, the edge of the outermost overlying portion being adhered to the other overlying portion; and inlet means in said wrapper comprising means defining a port extending through the outermost overlying portion, circumferentially displaced from the adhering edge thereof, to a passageway formed by the adhering and non-adhering parts of said overlying portions, and valve means comprising a pair of lips formed by a slit in said other overlying portion, said valve means extending from said passageway to the interior of said wrapper, said slit being generally parallel to the longitudinal axis of said cigarette, the curvature of said wrapper about said axis acting to urge said lips together to close them, said lips being capable of being opened to admit air into said filler when the pressure within said filler is less than the outside pressure.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,871,151 Brown Aug. 9, 1932 2,269,995 Trane Jan. 13, 1942 2,819,720 Burbig Jan. 14, 1958 2,832,354 Miller Apr. 29, 1958 2,841,153 Pelletier July 1, 1958 FOREIGN PATENTS 706,624 Great Britain Mar. 31, 1934 

